A Massive "Bulletstorm" Raises Anarchy In Demo
It's only January, but already the B3 crew has bore witness to probably one of the best first-person shooters of the year. From EA, Epic Games and People Can Fly comes Bulletstorm, and from what we've seen in the demo we can just about guarantee every gamer out there that they're in for one hell of a ride!
The demo for Bulletstorm has players taking control of Grayson Hunt, played by Mr. Spike Spiegel himself Steve Blum, as he and two of his Dead Echo comrades take down a foray of tattooed punks and gas-filled creeps. Of course you don't walk in there without the proper equipment, for without one's guns and nasty bomb launchers you wouldn't be able to kill with skill (the game's catchy tagline). For this demo you're given three sorts of weapons: a pistol, a shotgun and some special bombs that you can detonate (or just wait for it to explode on them). You've also got two other weapons: your mud-stomping boot and the most badass leash these eyes have ever seen. With the latter you can do two things: fling your rivals close to you for close-range shooting, or power it up and send your victim and anyone else close by soaring into the sky; it's skeet shooting with humans, to put it bluntly. Your weapons also have a secondary power, which will catch your opponents by surprise...before you blow them to smithereens!
So far from the demo the graphics look gorgeously bloody, with heads, limbs and other body parts being shot and blown off with nitty-gritty beauty. The worlds look realistic, whereas the characters seemed to have popped right off the pages of a good comic book. Its rocking soundtrack and explosive sound effects also pull you into the world of Bulletstorm, which will also help the graphics out with the melting of the gamers' faces. In laymen's terms: prepare to take a few days off of work to play this game.
As you can probably tell from these descriptions Bulletstorm is more cartoonish in regards to its blood, gore and just-plain guts 'n' glory, and it's one the most fun experience I've ever had with a demo since trying Split/Second at last year's PAX East. If I were to compare Bulletstorm with anything it would be like taking the movie Shoot 'Em Up and bringing it into a more colorful MadWorld. The phrase "kill with skill" comes into play with how you take down those nasty little baddies. For example: you can pull in a punk with your leash, shoot him in the face, and then kick him into some electrical equipment to fry him up nicely, all for a good-sized combo. If you want to be more simple in your killings you can just shoot the guy in the nads, and then proceed to boot his face into mush. I would mention more, but it would spoil the maniacal surprises that are in store within the demo alone.
The one downside with the demo is that it only lasts about ten minutes, but thanks to the various ways of creating carnage you'll be wanting to go back playing it at least thrice a day. Due on February 22 on Xbox 360, PS3 and the PC Bulletstorm will bring your FPS buddies together for nonstop hours of fun, gore and the best violent chaos anyone can find in a shooter. With this and Duke Nukem Forever coming out this year you can bet that 2011 will be a year where dumb and exciting fun will reign supreme on all the major consoles. Those who order the game on Xbox, however, will get a special treat: first-access to the beta of Gears of War 3. You may commence with the eager drooling, Mr. Pavlov's Dog.
